The present invention relates to a surgical retractor support apparatus. In particular, it relates to a clamping device that supports the surgical retractor support apparatus over an operating table.
Retractors are used during surgical procedures to retract the flesh at the edges of a surgical incision to expose a surgical site. The retractors are typically supported by a retractor support apparatus that is positioned over the operating table and about the surgical site. The retractor support apparatus is typically secured to a side rail attached to the side of the operating table by some type of clamping device.
In the past, two types of clamps have been used to position and attach a surgical retractor support apparatus to the side rail of an operating table. One type of clamp uses a mechanism in which a first member is pivotally attached to a second member and tightened in a jaw-like fashion around the side rail. The LeVahn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,631 and the LeVahn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,772, assigned to the same assignee as the present application, disclose clamping devices of this nature.
A second type of clamp supports a retractor support apparatus by employing a clamp member and a set screw. The set screw engages the side rail which secures the clamping member to the side rail. Examples of this type of rail clamp are disclosed in the Grieshaber, U.S. Pat. No. 3,040,739, and the Jascalevich, U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,783.
The prior art clamping mechanisms work well in situations when a lesser force is applied to the retractor support apparatus. However, when a large force is applied to the retractor support apparatus, the prior art clamps lack the stability to prevent the retractor support system from moving, tilting or leaning.
Another shortcoming of the prior art clamps is that the clamps are not always compatible to fit a variety of sizes of side rails. Therefore, an institution may be forced to own several different clamps to perform the same surgical procedure, depending on the design of the operating table.